THIS REPORT ON ERIC FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1968 DESCRIBES (1) STATUS OF TRENDS FROM 1967 AND EARLIER, (2) MAJOR CHANGES IN ERIC COMPONENTS, (3) GROWTH OF ERIC, (4) INCREASED USE AND IMPACT OF ERIC, AND (5) COMING DEVELOPMENTS. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE VALUES OF THE DECENTRALIZED PLAN OF OPERATION ARE DEMONSTRATED IN THE GROWING TIES AMONG CLEARINGHOUSE AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND BY THE INCREASING NUMBER OF INFORMATION ANALYSIS PRODUCTS GENERATED BY THE CLEARINGHOUSES. THE HISTORY OF ERIC FALLS IN THREE STAGES, WITH THE FIRST STAGE INVOLVING ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE INTERNAL ERIC SYSTEM. DURING THE PAST YEAR THESE ACTIVITIES HAVE BECOME ROUTINIZED AND THE CLEARINGHOUSES HAVE BEGUN TO INCREASE INFORMATION ANALYSIS AND RELATED DISSEMINATION PROGRAMS. THIS STAGE IS ALSO WELL ESTABLISHED AND THE ERIC SYSTEM IS NOW REACHING ITS MATURE LEVEL OF OPERATION, WITH MORE ATTENTION BEING DEVOTED TO LINKING ERIC TO OTHER DISSEMINATION CHANNELS AND TO ENCOURAGING LOCAL, STATE, COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY ORGANIZATIONS TO USE ERIC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. APPENDIXES INCLUDE AN OUTLINE OF ERIC DEVELOPMENT FROM 1965 THROUGH 1967 AND A LIST OF SPECIAL ERIC COLLECTIONS AND RESOURCES. A RELATED DOCUMENT IS ED 020 499, AND EVALUATION OF ERIC THROUGH JUNE, 1968. (JB)